Our 25-year anniversary banquet was held on Saturday, September 10,
2005, and served as our September meeting. Rick Evans director
of the W.
A. Gayle Planetarium, in Montgomery, graciously allowed us
to
use the facilities for the banquet and the presentation that
followed.
This date fell within two calendar days of the actual
first AAS meeting, 25 years ago. Our special guests, Keith
Hudson, founder of the Auburn Astronomical Society, his wife Carolyn,
and daughter, Mandy, were there from Florence AL.

Society members began arriving just after 5:00 to meet and
mingle .
We all enjoyed seeing each other and getting to know the families of
our
members.

Small world -- Glynn and Mary Alexander visit with Glynn's high school
classmate Dimitri Polizos, our caterer.

Our caterers from the Capitol Grill: Magdalena, Johnny, and
Dimitri

Rick and staffer, Jennifer Dobbs, outdid themselves decorating
the planetarium
for us. The tables and chairs were already arranged for the
banquet
-- each table with its own window view. Stars and planets adorned the
tablecloths,
and the scrolling banner sign made note of our special day.

Following welcoming remarks from AAS president, Rhon
Jenkins,
we began eating at 6:00PM. Demitri Polizos and his staff from the
Capitol Grill in Montgomery, catered the event and served as we
processed
down the buffet line that included: grilled chicken,
roast beef, sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, and a broccoli /
cauliflower
mix; rolls; bread pudding for dessert; and tea . Rick had made
coffee
available as well. The following members attended the banquet:

With appetites satisfied, we adjourned to the auditorium.
Larry Owsley
and Audrey Carr from Auburn, joined us for the program at 7:00PM.

With house lights dimmed and stars projected overhead, Rhon
presented
Keith with one of the AAS shirts as a token of our appreciation for his
vision and leadership in the early days of the society. In
his acceptance remarks, Keith thanked us for carrying on the tradition
that he had envisioned.

At this point, Rick asked Rhon to remain up front as he
presented to
Rhon, in the society's behalf, a proclamation
from Governor Bob Riley,
designating September 10, 2005, "Auburn Astronomical Society
Day".
It was at Rick's urging that the proclamation was issued. Thanks
to Rick for doing this. What nice surprise and a thoughtful
gesture.

Next, yet another surprise from Rick. On the dome was
projected
a 15-20 minute Power Point presentation set to appropriately
astronomical
music, with images of the society's past, including many of our members
and friends, in sync with the music, .

Following a heartfelt round of applause for Rick's tribute,
Rhon introduced
our speaker, Dr. David T. King Jr., who gave a an excellent
presentation
on the Wetumpka
Meteor Crater.

David began with an overview of the conditions at the site at
the time
of the impact. The shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico covered
the
area 80-83 million years ago. He described the composition and
angle
of entry of the carbonaceous condrite asteroid, comparing the size of
the
asteroid to that of Jordan-Hare stadium, in Auburn, and the awesome
devastation
to the entire region that ensued. He then went on to describe the
rebound and crater wall formations. Conclusive proof was
collected
in 1999 when shocked quartz was found in the core samples of an
exploratory
well.

David's presentation was interesting and informative employing
attention
grabbing graphics and presented in primarily lay terms for the benefit
of most of us there. His talk made liberal use of analogies and
every-day
comparisons to help us cope with the otherwise incomprehensible
statistics.
At the conclusion of his presentation, David entertained questions from
our group.

Special thanks to David for working us into his busy
schedule.
He left early Sunday morning to attend a geological conference in
Tennessee.

Special thanks as well, to Rick Evans who had a long day --
traveling
to Talladega for another commitment and returning in time to host our
event.

And, to our officers: president, Rhon Jenkins at
the helm;
vice president, Allen Screws; and treasurer, John Zachry,
who have kept us going for most of the past 25 years, our grateful
thanks
for jobs too often taken for granted.

And finally, and most importantly, our eternal thanks to Keith
Hudson
without whom, none of this would have ever happened.